"I heard, 'Give it up' and 'That's all I got'." - witness William Watson

HARRISBURG — Allen Norris Jr. was standing at the door wearing a homemade ski mask when police responded to an October 2010 home invasion at a drug dealer's Swatara Township apartment, an officer testified this morning.

Norris, 24, Durrell Moon, 26, and Jhamesha Brown, 19, all of Harrisburg, are accused of binding Seth Williams with duct tape and trying to rob him.

Norris is the first of the three to go to trial for the home invasion.

Williams, 54, was convicted of federal drug and weapons charges in September based on evidence, including crack cocaine, pistols and $7,000 in cash, that police found at the crime scene.

He and Brown are to testify as prosecution witnesses during Norris' trial.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Johnny Baer is claiming that Brown concocted the home invasion scheme, because Williams was sexually abusing her and turning his attentions to her 9-year-old sister.

Text messages found on Norris' cell phone outline his role in the plot, Baer claims.

Defense attorney Paul Kovatch is contending that Brown is a streetwise conniver and aspiring drug dealer who set Norris up.

He and Norris watched intently from the edge of the jury dock as Baer walked Wilt through the evidence police seized from Williams' apartment.

That evidence included:

Three semi-automatic pistols — two 9mms and a .45 caliber;

Marijuana;

Crack cocaine;

Several wads of cash;

Two knit caps with eyeholes cut out of them;

A roll of duct tape.

The guns were found in drawers, Wilt said, but only ammunition for the 9mms was found in the apartment.

Wilt said that when she arrived in response to the home invasion call, the door to Williams' apartment opened and she saw a masked light-skinned black man dragging Brown, who was crying and saying something unintelligible.

Wilt said she later identified the masked man as Norris.

Kovatch asked if she initially saw anyone in the apartment with a gun.

"It happened so fast. I did not," Wilt said.

The man who summoned the police, Williams' downstairs neighbor William Watson, said "a lot of noise, banging" coming from Williams' home awoke him around 3 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2010.

"I heard, 'Give it up' and 'That's all I got'," Watson said. "That's when I realized what was going on."

"I lost two friends in home invasions. That's how I knew what was going on," he added.

Watson said he didn't witness the crime, because he didn't leave his apartment.

Related Stories

Featured Story

Get 'Today's Front Page' in your inbox

This newsletter is sent every morning at 6 a.m. and includes the morning's top stories, a full list of obituaries, links to comics and puzzles and the most recent news, sports and entertainment headlines.

optionalCheck here if you do not want to receive additional email offers and information.See our privacy policy

Thank you for signing up for 'Today's Front Page'

To view and subscribe to any of our other newsletters, please click here.